Saturday’s deer opener found yours truly huddled in my Chester County tree stand a few ticks after 6 a.m. It was a brisk, frigid morning with temps hovering just below freezing with those pesky “feels like” temperatures about five degrees colder. But skies were clear and, best of all, Friday’s torrent winds had settled down into a dead calm. Weather conditions on opening day, at least for deer hunters here in our corner of the Keystone State, were pretty much perfect.
Legal hunting hours that day were set to begin at 6:31 a.m. and run until 5:06 p.m. Sure enough, the action started early that morning when a distant shot sounded around 6:38. For the next two hours a steady smattering of gunfire, both near and far, continued until letting up around 9 a.m.
But if I took a shot this morning, it’s a safe bet that no one would hear it. That’s because, even though it was opening day for firearms hunters, I had left my shotgun at home and carried my crossbow into the woods instead. I was hunting one of my favorite deer-rich hotspots, a place where nearby safety zones made legally hunting with a firearm impossible. But while safety zones for firearms are 150 yards, archery gear requires a safety zone of just 50 yards, which gave me plenty of room to operate in this suburban environment. I had passed up a number of smallish bucks during archery season but was holding out for a nice, mature 10-pointer that had appeared in an image on my trail camera that fall – let’s call him Mr. Big
It didn’t take long before the first deer started moving through my woodlot. A little before 7 a.m. three antlerless deer, all does, browsed by barely 10 yards away. The next deer ambled through around 7:30. It was a buck. In fact, it was Mr. Big. But while the does had passed within easy crossbow range, Mr. Big kept his distance as he stopped to rub his impressive headgear on an unlucky sapling almost 50 yards away. Despite my efforts to coax him closer via a few notes on my grunt call, he never strayed within comfortable crossbow range.
It’s a shot that would be a piece of cake with my scoped shotgun, but not one I felt confident of when wielding archery gear. Too many things could go wrong resulting in a clean miss or a bad hit so I held my fire. As the buck angled away, I grabbed my smart phone and snapped a few photos before Mr. Big wandered deeper into the woodlot and out of sight. Maybe he’ll be back and stroll within range before the season ends. But as every savvy deer hunter knows, bucks don’t get that old and big by being dumb.
In the meantime, the Pennsylvania Game Commission asks deer hunters to remember the following:
Antler points restrictions vary by Wildlife Management Units (WMUs). In most WMUs, a buck with three points to a side, counting the brow tine, is legal to harvest. But in WMUs 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B and 2D, a buck must have at least three points to a side, not counting the brow tine.
Junior license holders, mentored youth, disabled hunters with a permit to use a vehicle, and resident active-duty U.S. Armed Services personnel, can harvest antlered deer with two or more points on one antler, or a spike 3 or more inches in length.
For a complete breakdown of antler restrictions, WMU boundaries and other regulations, consult the 2025-26 Pennsylvania Hunting & Trapping Digest, which is provided to hunters and available online at the Game Commission’s website, www.pa.gov/pgc.
• Deer hunters everywhere statewide must wear at all times a minimum of 250 square inches of fluorescent orange material on their head, chest and back combined, visible from 360 degrees, during the firearms deer season. An orange hat and vest will satisfy the requirement.
Nonhunters who might be afield during deer season and other hunting seasons might consider wearing orange, as well. And on state game lands between Nov. 15 and Dec. 15, nonhunters are required to meet the 250-square-inch fluorescent orange requirement.
• Hunters who harvest a deer are required to affix a valid tag to the ear – not an antler – before the deer is moved. Hunters can use a large safety pin to attach the tag, as it won’t damage the ear. The tag must be filled out with a ballpoint pen.
Hunters must then report their harvests to the Game Commission within 10 days. Harvests can be reported online at www.huntfish.pa.gov, by calling 1-800-838-4431 or by mailing in the postage-paid cards that are provided in the digest.
Mentored youth hunters are required to report deer harvests within five days. Hunters with DMAP permits must report on their hunting success within 10 days of the last possible date of harvest, regardless of whether they harvest deer.
• It’s important for hunters to know where they’re hunting, including whether they’re in an area where Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has been detected.
Hunters harvesting deer within a CWD Disease Management Area (DMA) or Established Area (EA), can take them directly to any Game Commission approved processor or taxidermist anywhere in the state. The processor or taxidermist will properly dispose of high-risk deer parts. The list of cooperators can be found through the CWD page at the agency’s website.
Proper disposal helps prevent CWD’s spread to new areas and enhances CWD surveillance, as cooperators allow Game Commission staff to collect samples for CWD testing.
Hunters may not take a deer from any DMA or EA and process it themselves outside the DMA or EA. Nor can hunters place any high-risk parts from deer harvested within a DMA or EA on the landscape away from the harvest site.
There are, across Pennsylvania, fewer butchers handling deer than in years past. Some get all that they can handle quickly, too, especially around opening day.
So, it’s a good idea for all hunters – and especially those removing a deer from a DMA or the EA – to call ahead and make sure their processor of choice is open and accepting whitetails.
Hunters who harvest a deer in a DMA or the EA can get it tested for CWD for free by placing its head, with the harvest tag still attached to the ear, in one of many collection bins, the locations of which are identified on the Interactive Map at the Game Commission’s website.
Test results then can be checked at the Game Commission’s CWD dashboard.
Tom Tatum is the outdoors columnist for MediaNews Group. You can reach him at tatumt2@yahoo.com
